Telerik UI for UWP Now Open Source

Telerik UI for UWP is now open source. Learn what that means for you, for our customers and for the future of .NET development on Windows 10.

We are happy to announce that Telerik UI for Universal Windows Platform by Progress is now free and open-source. Yes, you read that correctly! Telerik UI for UWP is now open sourced under the Apache Software License (ASLv2) and is available for download for FREE. The UI for UWP repo on GitHub is now available to the public.

What is UI for UWP?

UI for UWP is a suite of 20+ UI controls for developers building UWP applications. It includes a wide range of controls for various application scenarios, including data management, scheduling, layout, editing, navigation, data/geo visualization, and interactivity. Some of the most popular controls in UI for UWP are the Grid, Chart, DataForm and ListView, which are used in the majority of line-of-business applications. These controls allow developers to build highly-performant applications for all Windows 10 devices—desktop, tablets and phones, as well as for IoT, Xbox and VR devices. Make sure to check the full list of available controls in the package.

Why would we do this?

We have long believed—no—we know, that the Microsoft stack is the most productive developer platform on the planet. After a decade of making some of the most downloaded Visual Studio extensions and .NET controls ever, we have an unparalleled respect for what Microsoft has done for developers all over the world.

Windows 10 was introduced about a year and a half ago, and since then we've received numerous requests about delivering a UI solution targeting the broad range of Windows 10 devices. Over the last twelve months, Windows 10 has seen growing adoption among desktop users and is now the second most used OS in the world, making up about 25% of the market. Even though Windows 7 is still the dominant operating system (it's on 1 out of 2 computers worldwide!), in just a year Windows 10 managed to solidify its runner-up position.

At Progress, we have a long history of investing in .NET as a platform, with products such as UI for WinForms, UI for WPF, UI for Silverlight, UI for ASP.NET AJAX and UI for ASP.NET MVC, and always being one of the first to support new Microsoft developer platforms, such as ASP.NET Core.

With the emerging interest in Windows 10, it was only logical that we expand our product portfolio with UI for UWP. Telerik UI for UWP already powers many of the applications in the Windows Marketplace. In fact, Telerik UI is the most popular UI library among all Windows Marketplace apps today. So, these are widgets that have already been battle tested and proven in The Real World™.

Open Source at Progress

Over more than 10 years we have invested a lot in .NET as a platform and the community around it.  Thanks to the wide recognition by our customers, Telerik products have enjoyed tremendous success and become the leading UI tools in the world.

The world is evolving, though, and both Microsoft and Progress recognize that the future is becoming more open. Progress has been increasingly involved in creating and contributing to open source projects, from Kendo UI Core to NativeScript and even the .NET decompliation engine behind JustCode. Microsoft has also been increasing its participation in open source, with obvious projects like .NET Core and Xamarin.

Making UI for UWP open source is a strong statement from both Progress and Microsoft about the future of software development and developer tools. We're excited to lead the way into this future side-by-side with Microsoft.

What happens to Telerik UI for UWP?

Even though we are open-sourcing UI for UWP, you can still download a trial of the commercially-licensed suite from our website. During the time of your trial, you can expect no less than the best support on the market, assisting you with your various questions and problems.

If you initially decide to go for the open-sourced version of UI for UWP, but later realize the need for support, you can be sure that we’ve got your back! Simply download a supported trial of Telerik UI for Universal Windows Platform and you will hear from our team. Our professional support remains a valuable service for teams and organizations that need that priority help.

Live webinar with Progress and Microsoft on UI for UWP's controls and roadmap

Following the announcement of the open-sourcing of UI for UWP, developer advocate John Bristowe, alongside Tim Heuer (Principal Program Manager @ Microsoft), held a live hour-long webinar, on Wed, Feb 15^th at 01:00 pm ET, where the presented the UI for UWP suite.

What was covered in the webinar:

• What the open-sourced version of UI for UWP includes
• A deep dive into the UI controls for UWP
• How developers can contribute to the open-source project

In case you couldn't attend, you can watch the full video of the webinar. 

Update: Since going open source, Telerik UI for UWP has joined the .NET Foundation! This is exciting news, and you can read all about it here.